Another exciting day when it comes to new openings in Glasgow, as the old Whistler on the Green venue has been replaced following its sudden closure. McLennans is a pub and speakeasy boasting the old 9am alcohol license, making it a unique day-to-night venue.
McLennan’s is the ninth venue from Glasgow hospitality group, Merchant Pubs & Bars. The spot is named after Bailie James McLennan J.P. (1838–1899), who has also left us the stunning McLennan Arch, was a Glasgow businessman, civic figure and philanthropist. In 1875, he became a partner in Alexander Bryce & Co., a leading wholesale wine and spirit merchant in the city. In 1884, he was elected Deacon Convener, one of the most prestigious civic roles in Glasgow’s merchant society.
To celebrate its opening, McLennans projected its logo onto the arch, with the logo itself being in Bailie James McLennan J.P.’s own handwriting – created by Big Think.
McLennans boasts two venues in one – a bright pub during the day, and a speakeasy on the Victorian Saltmarket. And from 9am, guests can order alcohol with food, as the venue boasts one of the only 9am alcohol licenses in the city. For breakfast and lunch, guests can enjoy plenty of coffee, panettone, toasties, soup and chips until 6pm while listening to Radio Clyde. What is more, dog owners are more than welcome to bring their furry friends along!
After 6pm, McLennans draws the curtains, boasting their night menu “designed like a nineteenth-century chapbook”. “Each cocktail tells a story from those streets: the illicit whisky dens known as shebeens, the razor-wielding Saltmarket Six (“think Peaky Blinders, but with Weegie accents”), and the hawkers who printed seditious pamphlets and got them out overnight to dodge the law.”
Expect unique cocktails with a story, such as The Sober Hangman, which tells the tale of the 1899 Act passed to stop Glasgow’s executioners from working drunk. I mean, if I had to execute people, I probably would have needed a drink beforehand, too!
Ewan Angus, Group Bars Manager at Merchant Pubs & Bars, said: “It’s been so exciting to create McLennan’s from the ground up. I loved researching James McLennan and the old Saltmarket. There are so many incredible stories, and every drink on the menu has one behind it. Seeing his name lit up on the Arch last night, right outside our front door, was the perfect way to begin. I can’t wait to share all our new creations with Glasgow. Pick your poison. Or don’t.”
McLennan’s is open now seven days a week from 9am, located at 5 Greendyke Street, Glasgow G1 5PU, on the former Whistler on the Green site.
